We may not have enjoyed all of the rain that came along in August, but it seems the Garden has absolutely loved it! Everything is looking very lush green and all the fruit, vegetables and flowers have been out in all their glory.
The flower beds and borders have been looking glorious especially with the gladiolus and dahlias putting on their summer show. Everywhere you look there are pollinators feeding on the rich nectar, it’s such a lovely sight to see!
The climbing French and runner beans finally climbed up their supports and have weaved their way throughout the sunflower patch on the edge of the market garden. We now have an abundance of beans for sale for all you bean-lovers out there!
The polytunnels have been providing us with plenty of super yummy tomatoes, fresh mixed salad, herbs, chillies, and of course more cucumbers.
Loofah Lane has produced many a loofah and now we just have to wait for them to dry out on the vine so fingers crossed!
The aubergines 'purple long' have been fruiting tremendously and the kitchen team have used them in their vegetarian moussaka (served up at Welcoming Spaces free lunch) and baba ghanoush in our tasty salad bowls served from Roots Café.
Rhubarb was picked and made into a refreshing summer Rhubarb & Ginger cordial cooler, also served from Roots Café.
Damsons have been harvested and made into a delicious damson conserve by our kitchen team and is now available to purchase from the garden.
The pumpkins have been harvested and moved into the polytunnel for 'curing' ready to be used closer to Halloween time.
For the first time this year we grew Cauliflower 'Romanesco', an unusual variety made up of numerous geometric florets. We are very proud to say that these managed to escape any pest damage and were harvested at the end of August. These were then used at a Welcoming Spaces lunch and sold on our market stall.
A bumper crop of leeks were harvested by our Gardening for Wellbeing Group and are currently fermenting as they are being made into our yearly Leek kraut.
We made posies and bunches of our homegrown cut flowers for a wedding reception held in the canopy last month - what a beautiful day.
The gardening team have also been busy picking and pressing flowers from the garden ready to use for a joint project with the SS Great Britain - the first session went really well on Saturday and we are looking forward to a second on Tuesday!
What a season. Thank you to everyone who has visited and contributed to the Garden's lushness this month!
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